Published October 28 2026
Victoria Park is the district just south of downtown Calgary, between the Elbow River and 2 Street SW and between the CPR tracks near 10 Avenue and 17 Avenue South, according to the Victoria Park Business Improvement Area (BIA). It takes its name from the exhibition grounds that the Calgary agricultural society bought and called Victoria Park in 1889, in honour of Queen Victoria, according to the BIA, Heritage Calgary and the Calgary Stampede. The houses that once filled the area were converted, left behind or demolished as Stampede Park grew, and the City folded the community into the Beltline in 2003. Today the east half is being rebuilt as the Culture + Entertainment District, with Scotia Place due to open for the 2027/2028 NHL season.
Victoria Park at a glance
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Where is it? | Elbow River west to 2 Street SW; CPR tracks near 10 Avenue south to 17 Avenue South | Victoria Park BIA |
| Named | 1889, for Queen Victoria (other sources give 1888, 1899 or 1901; see below) | Victoria Park BIA; Heritage Calgary; Calgary Stampede |
| Earlier name | The East Ward | Victoria Park BIA; CMLC |
| Official community today | Part of the Beltline since 2003 | Heritage Calgary; CTV News Calgary |
| Business area | BIA formed 1997; more than 350 merchants and businesses | Victoria Park BIA |
| Blackfoot name for the place | Moh’kinsstis, meaning “elbow” | CMLC |
| Current plan | Rivers District Master Plan, approved January 2018, a 20-year vision | CMLC |
Before the name: the East Ward
The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) notes that the land where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet is known in Blackfoot as Moh’kinsstis, meaning “elbow”, and was a traditional gathering and trading place. Fort Calgary went up nearby in 1875, according to CMLC.
The Victoria Park BIA’s history page says the open prairie here was a grazing ground for the North-West Mounted Police. The Canadian Pacific Railway then bought plots from the police and resold them in what the BIA calls “lottery type sales”. The area was known as the East Ward, and CMLC describes it as “the original transit-oriented development” because a neighbourhood grew around the station where the first trains stopped.
Why is it called Victoria Park?
The name started with the fairgrounds, not the houses. The Calgary Stampede’s SAM Centre history says the Calgary District and Agricultural Society was founded in 1884 and held its first Exhibition in 1886, when Calgary had about 1,000 people. In 1889, it says, the Society bought 94 acres from the Dominion of Canada and called the grounds Victoria Park. Heritage Calgary’s Beltline brochure says the area was “formally named Victoria Park in 1889” and that the name honours Queen Victoria, who never visited Canada.
According to the BIA, the name became official for the district after Calgary abolished its ward system in 1905.
Sources differ on the year
- 1889: Victoria Park BIA, Heritage Calgary, and chapter 1 of the Calgary Stampede’s history.
- 1888: chapter 3 of the same Calgary Stampede history gives 1888 as the year the Society bought Victoria Park from the federal government.
- 1899: CMLC’s history page says the Society bought 38 hectares in 1899 and named the area for the queen.
- 1901: historian Harry Sanders, quoted by CTV News Calgary, says the fairgrounds took the Victoria Park name after Queen Victoria died.
Three of the five sources give 1889, so this page leads with it and shows the other years beside it. The size is not in dispute: 38 hectares is about 93.9 acres (this site’s calculation, at 2.471 acres per hectare), which matches the Stampede’s 94 acres.
The Stampede’s history adds that in 1901 the City of Calgary bought Victoria Park and leased it back to the exhibition for $1 a year.
The residential district, 1880s to 1913
Heritage Calgary describes early-1900s Victoria Park as an upper-middle-class residential area close to downtown, bordered by the warehouse district and the CPR line. CREB Now reported in 2012 that building in the area was most active between 1902 and 1913.
According to Harry Sanders, as reported by CTV News Calgary:
- the first Calgary General Hospital was built in Victoria Park in 1885, and the site was left in 1910 when a new hospital opened in Bridgeland;
- Calgary’s first streetcar route ran through Victoria Park in 1909, linking downtown to the exhibition grounds and bringing shops and businesses;
- an economic downturn in 1913 changed the community.
The Calgary Heritage Initiative records two schools from this period: the Victoria Sandstone School, built in 1903 and used as an emergency hospital during the Spanish flu epidemic, and the Victoria Bungalow School, built in 1919 on the same lot with wood siding. Both were restored and designated municipal heritage resources through a rezoning agreement between a condominium developer and the City.
What happened to the houses?
Wealthier residents moved out. The City evaluation quoted by CREB Now says that from about 1913 commercial and industrial building spread into the neighbourhood and new elite subdivisions drew wealthier families away. Sanders told CTV News Calgary that many single-family homes became duplexes, apartments or boarding houses, and that the 1960s brought crime, social problems and inner-city decay.
Stampede Park grew north. The Calgary Stampede’s history lists the steps:
- 1954: the park grew east to the Elbow River;
- 1960: the City approved a 50-year lease of Stampede Park;
- 1965: the Stampede considered moving to Lindsay Park or Lincoln Park but stayed;
- 1968: City council approved expansion north to 14 Avenue SE, with $4 million over 20 years;
- 1988: the Stampede began buying properties in Victoria Park north of 14 Avenue SE;
- 1991: its Horizon 2000 plan proposed expanding to the railway tracks.
Heritage Calgary states that “homes were demolished as the Stampede Grounds continued their outward expansion”, and that urban renewal and car-oriented development left many empty lots. The BIA’s history adds that the 1981 oil bust “essentially” halted development for the next 20 years.
A few survive. CTV News Calgary reports that only a scattering of the original houses remain. One named by the sources still stands: the Teskey Residence, 1510 1 Street SE, built 1912, which Heritage Calgary calls a rare brick-clad example in Victoria Park.
The Sales House, 314 12 Avenue SE, built in 1904 by Enoch Sales, did not survive. CREB Now reported in November 2012 that it was the last pre-First World War home in that part of Victoria Park and that its owners, New Urban Consulting, were working with the City to find it a new location. CBC News reported that CMLC had owned the house since April 2017, and CMLC said on February 5 2019 that it had been demolished after a fire the previous Saturday, February 2 2019.
From community to business district
The Victoria Park Business Improvement Area was formed in 1997, and its history page calls it Calgary’s ninth BIA and the second largest in the city.
The residential community went the other way. CTV News Calgary reports that in the early 2000s residents and then-alderman Madeline King pushed for a single community, and the Victoria Park name came off the City’s list of recognized communities. Thom Mahler of the City of Calgary told CTV that in 2003 council merged Connaught and Victoria Park “into one unified planning district”, the Beltline. The Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan was approved in 2006.
The Beltline is now the official community name for what was Victoria Park. East Village, the other neighbour in this story, is part of the same CMLC planning effort: CMLC’s Rivers District page counts East Village’s transformation within the Rivers District.
The venues that reshaped the park
| Year | Building | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Stampede Corral opens, 6,450 seats | Calgary Stampede |
| 1974 | Larger grandstand and 5/8-mile racetrack in the southeast corner | Calgary Stampede |
| 1981 | Round Up Centre, now the BMO Centre, completed | Calgary Stampede; CMLC |
| 1983 | Saddledome opens, replacing the Stampede Corral | Calgary Stampede; CMLC |
| June 2024 | BMO Centre expansion completed ($500 million) | CMLC |
| Fall 2027 | Scotia Place handed to its tenant; opens for the 2027/2028 NHL season | City of Calgary |
See the venues at Victoria Park page for what each building hosts now, and Saddledome seating and parking for game nights.
The Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station rebuild
CMLC led and funded a $128 million project that rebuilt the Red Line station and extended 17 Avenue SE into Stampede Park. Ground was broken in July 2021, and CMLC lists both parts as complete in October 2024. Trains moved to the new platforms on December 4 2023 after nine days of round-the-clock work, according to CMLC.
According to CMLC’s completion announcement of October 10 2024, the project:
- replaced the elevated design with street-level, accessible side-loading platforms and ramps from the north, south and Macleod Trail;
- removed the Plus 15 walkway;
- shortened pedestrian travel from 400 m to 60 m;
- opened a corridor along 17 Avenue SE into Stampede Park for the first time in about 40 years, named Flores LaDue Parade, which the Calgary Stampede manages and can close during key events.
CMLC says the station serves nearly 13,000 users a day. The larger figure of about 47,000 daily riders, which CTV News Calgary reported as the station’s, is for the whole Red Line, according to Doug Morgan of the City of Calgary, quoted in the same CMLC announcement. Our Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station guide covers the station as it works today, and getting to Victoria Park covers the other ways in.
What is the Culture + Entertainment District?
The Culture + Entertainment District, or C+E, is CMLC’s name for east Victoria Park as it is being rebuilt. Calgary City Council approved the Rivers District Master Plan in January 2018, a 20-year vision covering 286 acres of the downtown east side, including the redevelopment of Stampede Park and east Victoria Park, according to CMLC. CMLC’s Rivers District page adds that an updated Calgary Stampede Master Plan, which CMLC and the Calgary Stampede first showed in March 2026, builds on that vision.
CMLC’s figures for the district at build-out:
- four million sq ft of new mixed-use development;
- more than 8,000 additional residents;
- more than 3 million visitors a year.
CMLC lists the pieces as the BMO Centre expansion, the station rebuild and 17 Avenue SE extension, Pixel Park (opened October 2023), the Stampede Trail retail corridor (ground broken April 2023), a hotel development and Scotia Place. CMLC says it has invested more than $650 million so far.
The City of Calgary owns Scotia Place, and the Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) will lease and run it. The City’s FAQ gives a total cost of $1.22 billion, shared by the City, CSEC and the Government of Alberta, with site work that began in January 2024. Read more on our Scotia Place page and in Victoria Park development, which tracks the district plan and street work.
Victoria Park timeline
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1875 | Fort Calgary built nearby | CMLC |
| 1884 | Calgary District and Agricultural Society founded | Calgary Stampede |
| 1886 | First Exhibition | Calgary Stampede |
| 1889 | Society buys 94 acres and names the grounds Victoria Park (other sources: 1888, 1899, 1901) | Calgary Stampede; Victoria Park BIA; Heritage Calgary |
| 1901 | City buys Victoria Park and leases it back for $1 a year | Calgary Stampede |
| 1903 | Victoria Sandstone School built | Calgary Heritage Initiative |
| 1905 | Ward system abolished; Victoria Park name becomes official | Victoria Park BIA |
| 1909 | First streetcar route runs through Victoria Park | CTV News Calgary (Harry Sanders) |
| 1912 | Guy Weadick’s wild west show idea that became the Calgary Stampede | CMLC |
| 1968 | Council approves Stampede Park expansion north to 14 Avenue SE | Calgary Stampede |
| 1988 | Stampede begins buying properties north of 14 Avenue SE | Calgary Stampede |
| 1997 | Victoria Park BIA formed | Victoria Park BIA |
| 2003 | Victoria Park and Connaught merged into the Beltline | CTV News Calgary; Heritage Calgary |
| 2007 | City approves 100-year lease of Stampede Park; CMLC created | Calgary Stampede; CREB Now |
| January 2018 | Rivers District Master Plan approved | CMLC |
| December 4 2023 | Trains switch to the new station platforms | CMLC |
| October 2024 | Station rebuild and 17 Avenue SE extension complete | CMLC |
| Fall 2027 | Scotia Place opens for the 2027/2028 NHL season | City of Calgary |
Frequently asked questions
Where is Victoria Park in Calgary?
Just south of downtown, from the Elbow River west to 2 Street SW and from the CPR tracks near 10 Avenue to 17 Avenue South, according to the Victoria Park BIA. CMLC’s Culture + Entertainment District, with the BMO Centre and Scotia Place, is centred on its east side.
Why is it called Victoria Park?
The agricultural society named its exhibition grounds Victoria Park, for Queen Victoria, and the name spread to the district. Most sources give 1889; others give 1888, 1899 or 1901.
Is Victoria Park still an official Calgary community?
No. CTV News Calgary reports that the name was removed from the City’s list of recognized communities and that council merged Victoria Park and Connaught into the Beltline in 2003. The name lives on in the BIA and the Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station.
What happened to the houses in Victoria Park?
Many became duplexes, apartments and boarding houses after about 1913, and Heritage Calgary says homes were demolished as the Stampede grounds expanded outward. Only a few original houses remain.
What is the Culture + Entertainment District?
CMLC’s name for east Victoria Park under the 2018 Rivers District Master Plan: a mixed-use neighbourhood with Scotia Place, the expanded BMO Centre, Stampede Trail and more than 8,000 new residents.
For places to stop while you are in the district, see Eat and Shop in Victoria Park and What’s On at Victoria Park.
Sources: Victoria Park BIA, History: East Ward, NWMP grazing, lottery sales, 1889 naming, 1905 ward change, 1981 oil bust, BIA formed 1997, ninth and second largest. Victoria Park BIA, About the BIA: boundaries, more than 350 businesses. Calgary Stampede, Stampede Through the Years, chapter 1: Society founding, first Exhibition, 1889 purchase and name, 1901 City purchase. Calgary Stampede, Stampede Through the Years, chapter 3: 1888 purchase year, leases, expansions, property purchases, venues. Heritage Calgary, The Beltline brochure: 1889 naming, early residential area, demolitions, 2003 amalgamation, Teskey Residence. Calgary Heritage Initiative, Queen Victoria toponyms in Calgary: Victoria schools. CMLC, C+E District history: East Ward, Fort Calgary 1875, 1899 purchase, 1912. CMLC, The Culture + Entertainment District: Moh’kinsstis, district figures, project dates. CMLC, Rivers District Master Plan: approval, area, East Village, updated Calgary Stampede Master Plan. CMLC, 17 Avenue SE and Victoria Park/Stampede Station completion, October 10 2024: station and extension details, nearly 13,000 daily station users, 47,000 daily Red Line riders (City of Calgary). CMLC, Victoria Park/Stampede Station Switch Complete, December 4 2023: platform switch. City of Calgary, Scotia Place FAQ: opening, cost, ownership. CTV News Calgary, Where did Victoria Park go?: Harry Sanders history, 2003 merger, 2006 plan. CTV News Calgary, Victoria Park/Stampede station reopens: 47,000 riders reported for the station. CMLC, Enoch Sales Residence fire update, February 5 2019: fire and demolition. CBC News, Historic Enoch Sales House destroyed by fire: CMLC ownership since April 2017. CREB Now, Victoria Park Revisited, November 23 2012: 1902 to 1913 building, Sales House, CMLC created 2007. All read October 28 2026.